1861: Fr. Nicholas meets Abp. Innocent of Kamchatka and discusses his missionary experience in Alaska. Fr. Nicholas arrives at the Russian Consulate in Hakodate to begin his service to the consulate and begin his missionary efforts with the Japanese.

1865: Fr. Nicholas meets Takuma Sawabe in a confrontation over the teaching of Christianity in Japan. After listening to Fr. Nicholas, Sawabe becomes Fr. Nicholas' first student and disciple.

1868: Fr. Nicholas performs his first baptisms of Japanese converts in April: Sawabe received the name Paul, Sakai became John, and Urano became James.

1872: Fr. Nicholas baptizes his first class of ten catechumens in Tokyo.

1873: Fr. Nicholas buys property in Tokyo at Surugadai in Kanda for his headquarters and there establishes schools for catechumens and the Russian language.

1874: In May, Fr. Nicholas convened the first general council of the Church of Japan.

1875: The first mission school away from Tokyo was opened in Osaka which became the center for Orthodoxy in southern part of Japan. The second general council of the Church was convened on July 12. At the council, the first Japanese were chosen to be ordained as clergy: Paul Sawabe as a priest and John Sakai as a deacon. Ordinations were made by Bishop Paul of East Siberia.

1878: Fr. Vladimir Sokolovsky, a graduate of Kazan Academy becomes dean of the Russian language school at Kanda Surugadai.

1880: Archimandrite Nicholas is consecrated Bishop of Revel, an auxiliary of the Archdiocese Riga. Bp. Nicholas established the Tokyo Seminary by merging the mission and language schools.

1882: Bp. Nicholas of Japan ordained the first Chinese Orthodox priest, Fr. Mitrophan Yang, for the Russian Orthodox Mission in Beijing, China, on June 29, 1882 in Tokyo, Japan.

1883: The Orthodox Church in Japan was served by 311 Japansese priests and 106 evangelists.

1884: Ground at Kanda Surugadai were blessed for the erection of a cathedral.

1907: Bp. Nicholas is elevated to Archbishop of All Japan, establishing the Church of Japan as a separated, independent diocese. Bp. Andronik departed for Russia due to poor health. Abp. Nicholas asks for an auxiliary.

1912: Abp. Nicholas dies on February 16 of heart failure. Bp. Sergius is recognized by the Holy Synod of Russia as successor to Abp. Nicholas and is elevated to Archbishop.

After Nicholas of Japan (1912-1945)

1917: The revolutions in Russia caused loss of financial support for the Church of Japan.

1923: The Great Kanto earthquake of September 1 caused severe damage to Holy Resurrection Cathedral and other building of the cathedral complex. Abp. Sergius expends major effort to raise funds and restore the cathedral.

1929: The re-built Holy Resurrection Cathedral is re-consecrated on December 15.

1931: Abp. Sergius is elevated to Metropolitan of All Japan by the Holy Synod of Russia.

1940: Militarized Japanese government enacts laws requiring all religious organizations in Japan to have Japanese in leadership positions. Metr. Sergius and non-Japanese staff retire. Metr. Sergius chooses to remain in Japan.

1941: Priest Nicholas Ono elected bishop by the general council. He is consecrated Bishop Nicholas by Abp. Nestor of Harbin after Fr. Ono's wife enters a Harbin monastery. Bp. Nicholas is first Japanese to be consecrated a bishop.

1944-45: Major Orthodox churches in Osaka, Nagoya, Shizuoka, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, and Sendai are destroyed in World War II air raids.

1970: As part of the autocephaly granted to the Metropolia in the United States, the Church of Japan was granted autonomy under the Church of Russia. Also, the Church of Russia recognized the sainthood of Abp. Nicholas as the Equal of the Apostles and Evangelizer of Japan. Abp. Vladimir was elevated by Patriarch Alexis of Moscow to Metropolitan of all Japan. With the granting of autonomy to the Church of Japan, Bp. Nicholas (Saiama) was named the Patriarchal Representative (Podvorie) in Japan.

2000: Bp. Daniel (Nushiro) is enthroned Archbishop of Tokyo and Metropolitan of All Japan by Patr. Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia, who traveled personally to Japan to enthrone the new Metropolitan on May 14, the first time a Russian Patriarch had ever visited the country; Bp. Peter (Arihara) dies.

2008: Abp. Nicholas (Saiama) of Ramenskoe reposed at St. Sophis Monastery and was buried in Gaijin Botchi.

Sources

A. Ishido, Masters Thesis, The Achievement of St. Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Evangelizer of Japan, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1974.